Portugal 1-0 Netherlands: 5 Talking Points and Tactical Analysis | UEFA Nations League Final

#2 Van Dijk keeps Ronaldo quiet

Ronaldo was largely kept quiet by Van Dijk

As soon as Quincey Promes applied the gloss on the Oranje’s victory over England, all eyes quickly turned to the prospect of the world’s best centre back clashing swords with one of the world’s top two attackers.

Cristiano Ronaldo versus Virgil Van Dijk had failed to materialise through the 2018-19 club season. Hence, the contest was appealing enough to get the average fan off his seat.

To add another layer of intrigue, Ronaldo came into the final on the back of a hat-trick in the semi-final whereas Van Dijk continued his incredible record of not getting dribbled past for the entirety of the season. Thus, something had to give in the meeting of the two titans and as it turned out, it was the Portuguese who blinked first.

Throughout the game, Ronaldo tried to get goal-side of the defender but was unable to do so. Though he wasn’t allowed many opportunities to directly run at Van Dijk, the latter ensured the door was shut swiftly when the slightest chance presented itself.

Apart from the dribbling aspect, the Juventus forward also failed to get any change out of the Dutchman aerially. Unsurprisingly, Ronaldo started drifting towards the right side to target the more inexperienced duo of Denzel Dumfries and Matthijs De Ligt.

On Sunday evening, the clash between Ronaldo and Van Dijk was billed as that of an irresistible attacking force colliding with the immovable object.

As things panned out, the latter stood its ground and resisted all attempts to displace it.